Stopping "Superbugs": Conference Collects Expert Opinion
In March, infection control professionals from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom attended a Global Consensus Conference in Toronto on infection control issues related to antimicrobial resistance. The specific aim of the three-day event was to achieve consensus on infection control practices when clinicians care for patients with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE). The conference was endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canadian Infectious Disease Society, and International Federation of Infection Control and sponsored by various healthcare companies including 3M,<%=company%>, and <%=company%> .
At the event, Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH, of the CDC, outlined various strategies for controlling resistant microorganisms. These include:
- handwashing
- administration of vaccines to those who may be susceptible to infection
- promoting a healthy lifestyle
- preventing exposures
- decreasing the use of medical devices.
On this last topic, Gerberding said that "the utilization of catheters, for example, is something we need to be thinking about. Minimizing the number of lines going into our patients will reduce the likelihood of their developing an infection."
On an international note, Dominique Monnet, DPharm, PhD, of Denmark, provided an update on the current status of antimicrobial resistance in Europe. Monnet cited the success of Denmark, a country that has instituted strict controls over the use of antibiotics. Adoption of these controls has resulted in an overall decrease in the prevalence of MRSA there, he said.
"Denmark's culture is a very proactive one, yet our pace is very different," he said. "It seems that the changes that we implement can be thoughtfully carried out because our health care staff is not overtaxed when it comes to workload. They have time to pay close attention to details that contribute to prevention when caring for patients. This, in addition to our reinforced infection control efforts and more judicious use of antibiotics, has led to a marked decrease in and maintained control of resistance."
In June, the participants are expected to release consensus recommendations for antibiotic resistance. The recommendations are to target these areas:
- Barrier precautions—what kinds of protection are necessary and scientifically justified for specific circumstances;
- Skin decontamination precautions—when and how to wash the skin to prevent the spread of resistant pathogens in specific circumstances;
- Environmental precautions—when and how to effectively decontaminate and disinfect the environment and patient care equipment.
In total, 49 recommendations were derived. All are said to have relevance to both acute and non-acute care settings and are intended for application in developing and developed countries. The recommendations are scheduled to be published in various infection control journals.